ANN ARBOR (AP) — Prosecutors for Wayne and Oakland counties plan to appeal a judge’s ruling that prevents them from viewing the names of 800 women who claimed Michigan Corrections guards and staff sexually assaulted or harassed them while they were in prison.
Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Connors denied a motion last week that would change an earlier agreement keeping the names of the women confidential, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday.
The women shared in a $100 million lawsuit settlement stemming from alleged sexual misconduct, which they claim happened inside prisons between March 1993 and July 2009. The suit was settled in 2009.
Wayne and Oakland counties want to know if any of the women owe court costs or court-ordered restitution to victims of crimes that led to their incarceration.
Michigan’s Department of Human Services also wants to know if the women owe any child support.
Friday’s ruling was an effort to balance the privacy rights of the crime victims with the rights of the women victimized while in prison, Connors said.
Prosecutors also were given the opportunity to submit names of women convicted in their counties that could be cross-referenced with the names of inmates receiving money from the lawsuit settlement.
“I really think I have bent over backward to try to accomplish what you’ve asked. If you have new lists, we can cross-reference those lists,” the judge told prosecutors and lawyers for the counties.
Changes to Oakland County’s computer systems since the 1990s and other issues related to recordkeeping made putting together a complete list difficult, said Mary Mara, assistant corporation counsel for Oakland County.
“We cannot, from a practical standpoint, generate a list we can feel comfortable with,” she said. “How can we, as parties to this suit, not be entitled to the names of the other parties?”
An attorney representing the female prisoners said 12 were found to owe restitution to Oakland County. Another 13 owed restitution to Wayne County.
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